Life and Politics in the Roaring Twenties

The Americans, Chapters 12 and 13

Social Issues during the 1920sUnion UnrestThe Red ScareImmigration RestrictionRacial Tension The Rebirth of the Ku Klux KlanTension between traditional and

modern ideas, as well as rural and urban lifestyles.

Union UnrestAfter WWI, major strikes made headlines

and paralyzed some industries.The most famous of these was the

United Mine Workers (UMW) strike in 1919, led by John L. Lewis.

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer declared the strikes illegal and blamed strikes on communists.

Union membership declined throughout the 1920s.

The Causes of the Red ScareSuccessful Bolshevik Revolution in

Russia in 1917. Could we be next?There was a socialist political party in

the U.S., as well as people who called themselves communists or anarchists.

Labor unrest and race riots were seen as a communist plot to overthrow U.S.

Mysterious bombings were seen as proof that the “revolution” had started.

Anti-Immigrant SentimentAmericans tended to associate

immigrants with communism.Nativism and xenophobia resurfaced.A. Mitchell Palmer raided meetings,

arresting and deporting aliens. Immigration Restriction League formed.Anti-Immigration legislation passed.

The Sacco and Vanzetti Case Two Italian anarchists

put on trial for robbery and murder in 1921.

Found guilty despite lack of solid evidence.

Verdict called the nation’s attention to the unfair treatment of immigrants.

Racial TensionDemographic shifts caused by the Great

Migration led to racial tension after WWI. Competition for jobs Housing Shortages

Race riots broke out in many cities Chicago 1919 Tulsa 1921

Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan Since the days of

Reconstruction the KKK had become far less popular and was very seldom in the news.

During the 1920s it was resurrected by a new national organization, selling memberships in every part of the U.S.

In each location, the Klan promoters appealed to the local prejudices.

Klans were pro-“American”, anti-black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Catholic, anti-Jew, anti-immigrant, and anti-communist.

Klan membership grew to 5 million.The national organization collapsed

after a scandal in the late 1920s.The Klan’s temporary popularity

illustrated the prejudice and intolerance of many people who feared the changes going on in America.

Traditional vs. Modern Values

The Era of ProhibitionThe Temperance Movement had long

worked to ban alcohol throughout the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

The 18th Amendment went into effect in 1920, prohibiting the manufacturing, transporting, and selling of alcohol.

However, the federal government was unable to enforce this effectively. Not enough funds were allocated and too few enforcement agents were hired.

The Prohibition Experiment Fails

Organized crime made easy profits supplying alcohol to eager buyers.

Speakeasies were illegal bars that continued to operate throughout the Roaring Twenties.

Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment.

The “flapper” was a young woman who challenged traditional fashion and behaviors.

Conservatives feared what they saw as a decline in morals.

Fundamentalists feared the impact of scientific study on religious beliefs.

They believed that the Bible should be interpreted literally.

The Scopes “Monkey” TrialOne example of this clash between

modern and conservative beliefs was the much-publicized Scopes Trial.

John Scopes was a science teacher who was charged with breaking a law which banned teaching the theory of evolution in Tennessee schools.

This trial received wide-spread publicity and sparked an international debate.

William Jennings Bryan The prosecuting attorney,

Bryan, presented the fundamentalist argument that, since the Bible said the world was created in seven days, the theory of evolution contradicts the Bible’s creation story.

Furthermore, he believed man could not have come from monkeys.

Clarence Darrow The American Civil Liberties

Union hired Clarence Darrow, a famous lawyer to defend Scopes.

Trial sparked world-wide debate. It was really a fight over the role of science and religion in public schools and in American society.

Scopes was convicted and made to pay a small fine, but the debate continues . . .

Charles LindberghLindbergh’s flight from

New York to Paris thrilled the world.

He symbolized the true American hero: smart, independent, modest, courageous, and willing to explore new possibilities.

                         

Henry FordFord was a new

kind of industrialist.His assembly line

process produced affordable cars for average Americans, transforming our lives.

He employed thousands of workers, preventing the formation of unions by giving his employees higher wages and benefits.

Mass Production Lowers Costs

Mass manufacturing of automobiles also led to the expansion of related industries (i.e. steel, rubber, glass, gasoline, road materials, and road construction).

Most major industries adopted the assembly line process.

Other Causes of 1920s ProsperityThe development of electricity led to the

invention of all types of new appliances.Radio and print advertising became a

major industry, boosting product sales. The availability of credit led people to buy

items they otherwise couldn’t afford.Even investing in the stock market could

be done using credit. This lead to an enormous boom in stock sales.

Economy grew along with consumer debt.